Pop Up Music Sessions

Pop up music sessions in Thames View and Rivergate

Free for adults of all ages,  no musical experience necessary.  

We'll be drumming, jamming, writing lyrics and music, singing, playing live gigs and recording.

The Re-write has Arrived!

Here's our version - written for the Thames View Estate 60th Anniversary on 12th June.

Listen out for pupils of Thames View Infants and Juniors on the day.

Spread the word and get singing!

CHORUS:  

As gold surpasses ore

our voices rise and fall

like birds 

above the river shore.

VERSE:

On Thames View Estate

we celebrate

the rich variety

patchwork society

CHORUS

OUTRO:

Sixty years, this estate

Sixty seconds every minute

time to celebrate!

Sixty years, this estate

Sixty minutes every hour

time to celebrate!

The Song of Barking

Thanks to John Blake at Barking History Society

It's great to see that The Song of Barking - written in 1730 has lyrics that seem relevant to life in the area today:  "With people in variety we have a good society..." and towards the end "our friendship and affinity surpasses consanguinity...Let's stand by one another."

Keep your eyes and ears posted for a re-write coming to you from Thames Ward very soon!

These Are The Hands

Sam and I spent a great morning last week working with members of Get Together , the oldest of whom was 98.  We shared stories, songs and memories and created These Are The Hands

These are the hands that

worked with wood.

Tended my garden.

Put up curtains.

Made sponge cake.

And 

prayed.

Tales on Tape

Tales on Tape

Today we continued our quest to uncover the stories and songs of Thames View and uncovered some hidden gems.  At Thames View Infants School, their fantastic Parent Co-ordinator Fi introduced us to a teacher who has seen three generations of children pass through its gates.  Barking born and bred, she told us tales of relatives who moved onto the estate when it was first built and how they all felt about it.  It was a fascinating journey - as we were listening to her we realised that she is one of the few people who understands why and how the estate was designed.

"A lot of the houses on the estate have their kitchens in what feels like a strange place.  It was all planned.  The idea was that mums could be in the kitchen whilst their small children played together in their little gardens out front.  When these children got older they could open the gate and play together in the square - with all the various mums watching from their various kitchens."  Oh, the 1950's!

Things turned out to be quite different in reality.  But she also told us how Bastable Avenue was a tree-lined feature of the estate, a pathway into a different world.  It made riding out on the EL1 to our next meeting quite a different experience - aware of how the vision of planners, councillors and architects encapsulated the ideals of the time.

When we jumped off on Ripple Road we were greeted with the sight of a huge machine chomping away at the side of a derelict block. 

It immediately reminded me of Verity Jane Keefe's brilliant piece Rooms With AView (2008) http://vimeo.com/9346010 a timelapse of the demolition of The Lintons set to a narrative by local residents which  reveals the "voyeuristic brutality" of demolition.

Further into the estate we came across The Hope  - an ex-pub which, by the looks of things has been transformed into a mosque. 

Further still and we finally got to Studio 3 Arts http://www.studio3arts.org.uk, one of the organisations we have to thank for making this residency possible.  Sam and I breathed a sigh of relief when we walked in.  People were making things, all sorts of things, and just getting on with it.  And in a back room we met Iris and John who have been running the Barking and Dagenham Talking Newspaper for over 25 years. 

Hoping to reach blind and partially sited people on the Thames View Estate - we had the swiftest recording session ever, a one take wonder presided over by Iris, telling people what we're up to and inviting them to join us over the next six months.   Every week a small team of volunteers records the news and send off to up to 100 local listeners....and the best bit, it's all done on cassette.  

We left Studio 3 feeling nostalgic for all sorts of things.  Mix tapes, the sound of high speed dubbing...that world where we literally made tapes for each other rather than playlists with a few clicks of the mouse that vanish as easily as they appear.  

Thanks for showing us your world Iris and John!

Thames View...The Beginning

When Thames View Estate was opened in 1954 one local resident, seeing his new home for the first time commented "it was like entering paradise."  Two weeks ago Musicians Sam Glazer and Adriano Adewale sat outside the post office on Farr Avenue and played rhythms and grooves from all over the world.  We spoke with local residents - some of whom described their passion for music: "I mean, what would life be without music?" said David, who was heading to the shops with his granddaughter. "I used to play guitar, I can play anything really."

I wonder if he knows the secret musical heritage of Thames View Estate?  In the 1960s pop band The Tremeloes, who rose to fame with their hits Twist & Shout and Do You Love Me?, used the community hall for rehearsals. Over the next six months Sam and I are planning to use the community hall, along with other spaces, to make music with anyone who wants to turn up.  We'll listen to people's stories, play, write and compose with as many residents as possible.

We're looking forward to getting to know people and to our live recording sessions will turn venues in the area into professional studios in which we can record the many different voices, the many different Tales From Thames View.